Rumsfeld Keeps Political Distance

December 27, 1991|By William Gruber.

From his 49th-floor office at the top of the 181 W. Madison Building, Donald Rumsfeld runs a $1 billion corporation while keeping an eye on the world of government and politics, where he once was a major player.

``I don`t have any thoughts about getting back into that area,`` he said. After a moment, he added: ``I have no plans in that direction at the moment.`` Rumsfeld, 59, became chairman and CEO of General Instrument Corp. in October 1990. He moved the corporation`s headquarters from New York to his hometown of Chicago exactly one year later.

The move from Manhattan, he pointed out, saves General Instrument rent money. It produced other savings, too, because he and several executives who are Chicago residents commuted between the two cities almost every weekend.

About 20 people work in the Chicago office of General Instrument, which has 10,000 employees ``and many plants located around the world,`` Rumsfeld said. Total employment was 15,000 before the company recently sold its defense businesses.

The company also is seeking to sell or divest its transportation electronics and wagering equipment divisions. General Instrument`s main focus, said Rumsfeld, will be on the communications field, producing broadband transmission equipment, coaxial cable and related items. It also has allied with Massachusetts Institute of Technology in proposing a digital high-definition television system.

``We have as good a chance as anybody,`` said Rumsfeld, whose company is competing against proposals by Zenith Electronics Corp. and AT&T, a European consortium and several Japanese companies.

Because General Instrument is owned by Forstmann Little & Co., a leveraged buyout firm, he won`t discuss the company`s profit picture except to say ``three out of our four businesses are doing fine.`` The company`s continuing operations, he added, are ``recession-resistant .``

Asked if he expects General Instrument to grow in 1992, Rumsfeld said:

``I think so. We have very large market shares in the businesses we are in.``

One of the units is negotiating to acquire ``a smaller business,`` he said, without being specific. The company, Rumsfeld added, is involved in a number of joint ventures and partnerships. It`s also looking for opportunities overseas, including Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

Rumsfeld`s long record of government service started in 1962 when he was elected to the first of four terms in Congress. He was a director of the wage- price controls program under President Richard Nixon in the early 1970s, ambassador to NATO, White House chief of staff and secretary of defense. He was chairman of G.D. Searle & Co. for five years in the 1980s.

He`s often been mentioned as a possible candidate for everything from mayor of Chicago to governor of Illinois to president of the U.S., to which Rumseld responded: ``Not by me.``

But he keeps in close touch with the people in power. Last month, he held a fundraiser for Vice President Dan Quayle in Chicago. Will he work in President Bush`s re-election campaign?

``I don`t know,`` Rumsfeld said. ``We haven`t discussed it.``

Bally taps ex-FBI agent

Bally Manufacturing Corp. formally named former FBI agent Bernard J. Murphy to replace James M. Rochford, who retired in September as VP of corporate affairs and government relations. But Rochford, 70, who was superintendent of the Chicago Police Department from 1973 to 1977, remains on Bally`s board of directors.

``His term expires in mid-1993 and he has a consulting agreement through 1992,`` said Neil E. Jenkins, executive VP of the casino and health-club operator. ``We`d be happy if he chooses to stay on for another three years.`` Bally also announced that New York economist Pierre A. Rinfret, 67, has retired from the board. He`ll remain a consultant to the company until mid-1993, however. Rinfret ran as a Republican for governor of New York in 1990, losing to Mario Cuomo.

BUSINESS BEAT: Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of Chicago will kick off a recycling program at four locations Jan. 4, where it will pay up to 2 cents a can. (Cans that contained other than Coca-Cola products will get only 1 cent apiece). The program is open to non-profit organizations only.

COMING AND GOING: Rick Stasyshan was promoted to VP of U.S. operations for Sullair Corp., a Michigan City-based subsidiary of Sundstrand Corp. . . . Robert P. McNeill was elected chairman of the Institute of European Studies. He is an executive VP of Stein, Roe & Farnham. . . . John R. Montgomery III, president of Lakeside Bank, was elected president of the Bankers Club of Chicago for 1992.